Difference between revisions of "Yitzchak/0"
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<subcategory name="Yitzchak & Avraham"> | <subcategory name="Yitzchak & Avraham"> | ||
Yitzchak and Avraham | Yitzchak and Avraham | ||
− | <p>How, if at all, was Yitzchak's relationship with Avraham affected by the Akeidah?</p> | + | <p>How, if at all, was Yitzchak's relationship with Avraham affected by the <i>Akeidah</i>?</p> |
</subcategory> | </subcategory> | ||
<subcategory name="Yitzchak & Sarah"> | <subcategory name="Yitzchak & Sarah"> | ||
Yitzchak and Sarah | Yitzchak and Sarah | ||
− | <p>When Rivka weds Yitzchak, the texts shares, "וַיְבִאֶהָ יִצְחָק הָאֹהֱלָה שָׂרָה אִמּוֹ וַיִּקַּח אֶת רִבְקָה וַתְּהִי לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה וַיֶּאֱהָבֶהָ וַיִּנָּחֵם יִצְחָק אַחֲרֵי אִמּוֹ."  What | + | <p>When Rivka weds Yitzchak, the texts shares, "וַיְבִאֶהָ יִצְחָק הָאֹהֱלָה שָׂרָה אִמּוֹ וַיִּקַּח אֶת רִבְקָה וַתְּהִי לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה וַיֶּאֱהָבֶהָ וַיִּנָּחֵם יִצְחָק אַחֲרֵי אִמּוֹ."  What might this tell us about Yitzchak's relationship with his mother?</p> |
+ | <ul> | ||
+ | <li><b>Particularly close</b> – Radak and Ramban imply that the two were particularly close and even though several years had passed since his mother's death, Yitzchak was only consoled when he married Rivka.</li> | ||
+ | <li><b>Missed her righteousness and blessing</b> – HaKekat Ve Habaakbbalah, working off the midrash that Sarah's tent had been filled with blessings while alive, suggests that it was her good deeds and the ensuing blessing that Yitzchak missed, and it was these that Rivka replaced.</li> | ||
+ | <li>Not unique – Rashi suggests that Yitzchak's reaction to his mother's death was not necessarily unique, but is simply the "the way of the world."  One naturally clings to one's mother while alive and when she dies one gets comfort from one's wife.  If so, though, it is not clear why the Torah would need to go out of its way to share this fact.</li> | ||
+ | </ul> | ||
</subcategory> | </subcategory> | ||
<subcategory name="Yitzchak & Yishmael"> | <subcategory name="Yitzchak & Yishmael"> | ||
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</ul> | </ul> | ||
<li><b>Desired traits</b> – What were the main criteria when choosing Yitzchak's spouse? Was he looking for a woman who would share his belief system or someone who was of noble character?</li> | <li><b>Desired traits</b> – What were the main criteria when choosing Yitzchak's spouse? Was he looking for a woman who would share his belief system or someone who was of noble character?</li> | ||
+ | <li>"וַתְּהִי לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה וַיֶּאֱהָבֶהָ"</li> | ||
<li>Communication gap?</li> | <li>Communication gap?</li> | ||
</ul> | </ul> |
Version as of 22:48, 9 October 2019
Yitzchak
Religious Identity
Akeidat Yitzchak
What role did Yitzchak play during the Akeidah? Was he a willing participant or an unwilling victim? Was the trial just as much (if not more) of a test for him as it was for Avraham? These questions are intricately related to another set of unknowns in the text. How old was Yitzchak during the event? Was he aware of the plan all along, or only at the last minute?
- Unknowing, unwilling victim – Ibn Ezra presents Yitzchak as a youth, aged 13 or so during the episode,1 and suggests that he was unaware of the plan,2 and was forced to be sacrificed against his will.3
- Aware and willing participant – In contrast, many sources4 suggest that Yitzchak was an adult,5 fully cognizant of what was going on, and a totally willing participant. R. Levi in Bavli Sanhedrin 89b goes further to suggest that the entire idea to be offered as a sacrifice stemmed from Yitzchak himself!6
- Ambivalent – Bereshit Rabbah 56:4 takes a middle position, presenting Yitzchak as having doubts,7 calling to his father in the hopes that he will have mercy. Nonetheless, he ultimately goes "together" with Avraham to be sacrificed.
"Frum From Birth"
Yitzchak is the only of the Avot who is neither born into a polytheistic household (like Avraham) nor later forced to live with the idolatrous members of his extended family (as was Yaakov). In fact, it seems that he never leaves Israel at all. How did this impact his religious identity? Though he was still exposed to the polytheism of Canaan, did this relative isolation make him more solid in his beliefs, or might it be that it is direct challenges to one's value system that actually strengthen one more in the long run?
Did Yitzchak keep all the mitzvot?
The issue has been hotly debated for generations. On one hand, Yitzchak lived centuries before the Torah was given and many of its laws would be meaningless to him, suggesting that he did not keep them. On the other hand, it seems paradoxical to conceive of one of the founders of a religion not observing even its most basic commandments. This leads to a variety of approaches to the question. For a full discussion of the issue, see Avot and Mitzvot.
Unique Traits
- Businessman
- Agriculturist
- Holy
Family Life
Yitzchak and Avraham
How, if at all, was Yitzchak's relationship with Avraham affected by the Akeidah?
Yitzchak and Sarah
When Rivka weds Yitzchak, the texts shares, "וַיְבִאֶהָ יִצְחָק הָאֹהֱלָה שָׂרָה אִמּוֹ וַיִּקַּח אֶת רִבְקָה וַתְּהִי לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה וַיֶּאֱהָבֶהָ וַיִּנָּחֵם יִצְחָק אַחֲרֵי אִמּוֹ." What might this tell us about Yitzchak's relationship with his mother?
- Particularly close – Radak and Ramban imply that the two were particularly close and even though several years had passed since his mother's death, Yitzchak was only consoled when he married Rivka.
- Missed her righteousness and blessing – HaKekat Ve Habaakbbalah, working off the midrash that Sarah's tent had been filled with blessings while alive, suggests that it was her good deeds and the ensuing blessing that Yitzchak missed, and it was these that Rivka replaced.
- Not unique – Rashi suggests that Yitzchak's reaction to his mother's death was not necessarily unique, but is simply the "the way of the world." One naturally clings to one's mother while alive and when she dies one gets comfort from one's wife. If so, though, it is not clear why the Torah would need to go out of its way to share this fact.
Yitzchak and Yishmael
Yishmael is rejected and banished from home, while Yitzchak is chosen to inherit. How did this affect their relationship? In contrast to the Yaakov and Esav stories where Yaakov actively intervenes to get the birthright and blessing, Yitzchak is but a toddler when Yishmael is banished, and plays no part in the decision.
Yitzchak and Rivka
- Finding a wife – Bereshit 24 expounds at length about the search for an appropriate wife for Yitzchak. Somewhat surprisingly, Yitzchak is absent from almost the entire episode. Avraham sends his servant, rather than Yitzchak himself, to find the appropriate woman from Aram Naharayim. Why does not Yitzchak himself go?
- Norms of the time
- Not allowed to leave Israel
- Passive
- Desired traits – What were the main criteria when choosing Yitzchak's spouse? Was he looking for a woman who would share his belief system or someone who was of noble character?
- "וַתְּהִי לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה וַיֶּאֱהָבֶהָ"
- Communication gap?
Yitzchak and Sons
Possible Flaws
Passivity?
Blessing Esav
Comparisons
Setting up foils is often a useful method to highlight the unique aspects of a character or story. What can be learned about Yitzchak from the following comparisons?
- Yitzchak and Yishmael
- Finding a wife by a well
- Avraham and Yitzchak